Self-oiling bearing.



J. BURKE.

` SELF OILING BEARING. APPLIOATIDN FILED sBPT."17, 1907.

,01?,l32, Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

vwmrozf JAMES BURKE, OF ERIE( PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 BURKE ELECTRIC COMPANY,

V A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

SELF-OILING BEARING.

Patenten nel?. 13, 1912.

Application led September 17, 1907. Serial No. 398,386.

To all lwhom z't may concern.' 1

Be it known that I, JAMES BURK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Erie, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Self-Oiling Bearings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification. p

My invent-ion relates to self oiling bearings, and although well adapted for use in dynamo electric machines, is also of advantage for use in bearings generally.

Prior to my invention, -it has been common practice to use self oiling bearings in which arbrass ring seats in a slot in the bearing sleeve and engages the upper portion of the shaft which is exposed in this slot. The rot-ation of the shaft serves to rotate the ring which latter dips in a reservoir of oil below the shaft and so causes the oil to be carried from this reservoir, to the upper portion of the shaft, whence the oil works in between the bearing surfaces. This construction is objectionable on account of the small amount of oil supplied to the bearing, and on account of the comparatively large vcost of manufacture. It is also objectionable because the movement of the ring is frequently irregular giving irregularity in the oil supply. This is due mainly to a ilmlof oil sometimes entirely separating the ring from good contact with the shaft which so reduces the friction that the ring will slip excessively or stop.

The object of my present invention isto.

provide a self oiling bearing which will overcome these objections, and which shall be simple in construction and of a high degree of efliciency and reliability. Instead of using the oil ring of brass or other metal of customary construction, I have found byexperiment that far better results are secured by the use of a series o f apertured I disks placed side by side when 'held sufficiently close together so that each will co. .operate with the adjacent disk in carrying the oil to the upper portion of the bearing surfaces, the aperture of each disk being of greater diameter than the shaft. The apertured disks are preferably formed from thin lsheet metal such as the sheet iron from which the laminae of dynamos and motors are constructed, but it will sometimes be desirable to form the disks from non-magnetic sheet metal, or provide outside disks of non-magnetic metal to avoid magnetic effect. The series of disks of course afford The action is particularly effective by reason ofthe fact that when the rings pass through the oil reservoir, they tend-to separate and allow the oil to gather between them, and when the rotation brings this portion of the disks above thebearing, they are pressed together somewhat which forces t-he oil out from between the disks. A copious supply of oil is thus furnished to the bearing. Also the higher the speed of the shaft, the greater `is the amount of oil supplied. Also the friction between' the disks and the shaft is entirely .suiiicient to give uniform rotation and therefore uniform` iow of oil. This desirable action occurs by reason of the individual freedom of movement of the disks and of the narrow edges thereof which easily cut through the oil film to the shaft; one or more of the disks are consequently always in good contact with the shaft.

My invent-ion will be understood from the following description and accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a sectional view of one form of bearingf embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3v is a sectional view showingmy invention applied to another form of construction; andl Figs. 4 and 5- are side views of modified forms of disks.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the character l indicates an upper frame portion and 2 a lower -frame portion, the parts sometimes being separable on a central horizontal plane. The supporting frame carries the bearing supports 3, between which and the shaft 4: is interposed the'bearing sleeve 5 of suitable material.' The frame also has formed therein an oil reservoir 6 and is provided with a hinged cover 7. A s lot is cut in the upper portion of the bearingsleeve in which are located the disks 8 above re- Nferred to and which engage the shaft at" their inner edge or innervengaging surface. These disks are offlargi diameter than the \shaft in order that theirflower portion will pass through the oil iii the lower part of the reservoir 6. ,The disks used may have any suitable-size, form and proportions and may be of any desirable form of cross section. 'The cover 7 is shown provided withaprojection 9 which, when the cover is closed, is located immediately abovethe disks and serves vto remove the oil from their outer `surfaces and assist in forcing the oilinto the bearing. One-or more notches 10 are preferably formed in the bearing sleeve at the sides of the -slot to serve as pockets and paths vfor the oil into the bearing. Any desired number of apertured disks may be used but of course if an insufficient number is use so that the disks are considerably separated, they will not coperate to bring sufficient oil to the bearing, and on the other hand if too large a number are used for a given size of groove, the oil cannot freely pass in between the disks, and therefore wlll not give the best results. Also if too large a number of disks are used they will not rotate y smoothly or uniformly. Within limits the amount of oil fed to the bearings may be regulated by the number of disks used. Also the speed of the disks may be regulated by the-number of disks used; and by using a proper number, excessive speeds or irregularity in movement are overcome.

In Fig.. 3 a bearing of common type of construction is shown with my invention applied thereto. The main pedestal or supporting frame is shown at 11 having the cap v12 and containing the self alining bearing sleeve 13. Within the slots formed in the upper part of the bearing sleeve and engagin the upper portion of the shaft are the diks 14. The disks extend belowpinto the oil reservoir'l and the rotation of the shaft causes the disks to furnish a copious supply of oil to the bearings in the manner already explained.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a form of disk 16 in which the peripheral surface is increased bythe formation of projections or by cutting away portions of the disk to form recesses at the outer edge thereof.

In Fig. 5 the disk is perforated having the series of holes or recesses 17 cut or otherwise formed therein. This form may sometimes be desirable. i

Each disk may be perforated and also provided with projections. In assembling groups of disks I may use one onmore 4of the several typesof disks according to the purposes desired. l

`While I have shown and described certain clare that what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,- i

l. In a self-oiling bearing, the combination of a shaft and bearing therefor, a^reser voir for lubricant, and a plurality of lubricating disks c'operating' with each other and lying immediatelyadjacent eachother along a line parallel to the axis of said shaft, said disks being rotated by said shaft and adapted at their lower portions to pass through the lubricant in said reservoir.

2. In a self-oiling bearing, the combina- Ation of a shaft and bearing therefor, areser'- voir for lubricant, and a plurality of lubri? cating disks cooperating with each other and lying immediately adjacent each other 'along a line parallel to the axis of said shaft, said disks having oil carrying recesses, said disks being supported at their upper portions by said shaft and rotated thereby, and v adapted at their lower portions to lpass through the lubricant in said reservoir.' u

3. In a self-oiling bearing, the combinat-ion of a shaft, a bearing and supporting' frame for the same, a reservoir for lubricant, a plurality of lubricating disks laterally adjacent each other carried and rotated by said shaft, each of said diskshavingl laterally opening recesses and adapted at its lower portion to pass through the lubricant insaid reservoir, and means for positively .removing the lubricant from said disks to said bearing, said means comprising a part carriedby said.frame.

4. In a self-oilin bearing, the combination of al shaft, a earing andsupporting frame for the same, a reservoir for lubricant, a plurality of coperatin disks lying immediately adjacent each ot er along a line parallel to the axis of said shaft, Said 'disks being carried at their upper portions by said shaft and thereby rotated, and adapted at their lower portions to pass through the lubricant in said reservoir, and means for positively removing oil from said disks to said bearing, said means comprising .a part carried by said frame.

5. In a self-oiling bearing, the combinalower portions to pass through the lubricant tion of a shaft and bearing therefor, a. reserin said reservoir. 10 Voir for lubricant, and a plurality of mov- In testimony whereof I aix my signature,` able lubricating elements coperating With in presence of two Witnesses.

each other and lying immediately eontiguv JAMES BURKE.

ous to each other along a line parallel to the Witnesses:

axis of said shaft, said elements being ro- L. SAGER,

tated by said shaft and adapted .at their GEO. A; HOFFMAN. 

